Denis Villeneuve’s “Enemy”
Twisting and surreal story of commitment, love, identity and temptation told through a Kafka-esque lens
Revisiting Shinya Tsukamoto’s “Tetsuo: The Iron Man”
Technopunk fever dream; as if Gwar was let loose on the set of Eraserhead and Un Chien Andalou with Talking Heads choregraphy and Cronenberg body horror
Martin McDonagh's “The Banshees of Inisherin”
A deep philosophical, existential masterpiece with moments of humour that transcend the limitations of its isolated setting
Konstantin Yershov & Georgi Kropachyov’s “Viy”
Russian supernatural folklore with a final act that reaches the bawdy insanity of Nobuhiko Obayashi’s “Hausu” and hints of Mikhail Bulgakov’s book, The Master and Margarita
Amat Escalante’s “The Untamed”
A compelling drama about addiction, love and sex with a single science fiction conceit told in earnest
Zach Cregger’s “Barbarian”
A fantastic, innovative, layered and scary chimera of a horror story best entered into with as little information as possible
Shinichirou Ueda’s “One Cut of the Dead”
A hilarious ode to guerilla filmmaking with an innovative three act structure that pays homage to low-budget horror
Andrew Gaynord’s “All My Friends Hate Me”
Described as a “Horror/Comedy”, this is torture porn for people with social anxiety closer to Michael Haneke than Edgar Wright
Pål Sletaune’s “Next Door (Naboer)”
Kafka meet’s Repulsion in this efficient meditation on misogny
David Bruckner’s “Hellraiser” (2022)
Technically sound with a stand out performance from Odessa A’zion let down by a creaky script and poor pacing
Michael Giacchino’s “Werewolf by Night”
An entertaining homage to classic cinematic horror that doesn't overstay its welcome
Genndy Tartakovsky’s “Primal”
A visceral master class in visual storytelling in this fantasy action/drama
Kogonada’s “After Yang”
Bladerunner by way of Yasujirō Ozu
The problem with Robert Eggers’ “The Northman”
Where The Witch and The Lighthouse felt authentic to their roots in American folklore, The Northman feels like an insincere rendition of Scandic mythology seen through an American and anglocentric lens.
Hanna Bergholm’s “Hatching”
Still from Hanna Bergholm’s “Hatching” with a young girl leaning over a giant speckled egg